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Techtonic: Tracked by TikTok

Techtonic: Tracked by TikTok - Digital

It’s a journalist’s worst nightmare: your phone has been tracked by rogue employees, tapping into your sources. That’s what happened to Financial Times tech reporter Christina Criddle, who one day received a call from a TikTok representative detailing how some of their staff had tracked her using the app.

In this episode of the Techtonic podcast, Christina tells host Chris Stokel-Walker how she responded to the unfolding saga.

As one of the most popular platforms in the world, TikTok’s influence is staggering. But reports of a toxic workplace, growing concerns about its parent company ByteDance’s handling of users’ data, as well as the potential for it be used to spread propaganda and as a tool of censorship paint a troubling picture of the future of our digital environments. What do incidents like those Christina experienced reveal about the emerging challenges for freedom of expression online?

 

Producers: Christopher Hooton and Nicola Kelly

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Listen to other episodes:

Internet shutdowns as a tool of control

The deepfake porn problem

AI and election integrity